HAITI POSTS

God’s word tells us to “Come to me all of you who are labored and have many burdens and I will give you rest.” I’ve been thinking about that scripture a lot since I’ve been here. Yes, I work two jobs, yes, I go to school, and no, I do not get a lot of sleep. But my burdens pale in comparison to those of these beautiful Haitian people who take everything that comes to them with an acceptance and contentment like I have never seen. While I don’t think I do much complaining about where God has me in my life at this time, I can confess that there are days when I have prayed, “God can’t I just have a break today?” I look at the folks here in Haiti, and the burdens of my world pale (almost vanish) in comparison. Yesterday, when we at the worksite, we all worked hard, and for some of us, manual labor was a stress because we are not used to that kind of work. But the Haitian men (some of them were 12 & 13 years of age) worked with a power and might that held me in awe. They worked together and they were supportive of one another’s weaknesses and strengths. All the while they were smiling and chatting and, while I’m sure they were not having any fun, they had a certain kind of joy in it. They bring true meaning to the understanding that this IS the day the Lord has made, and they showed how to rejoice and are glad in it! As I worked and watched, taking in as much as I could, I would see women carrying Large buckets of water on their heads and there would be children with them carrying jugs of water. They were walking, barefoot or in flip flops, on the rough and rocky roads through the mountains. Always taking a moment to smile and give a cheerful “bon jour” to these strangers working, watching, and learning from the simplest of cultures. What these men and women go through and do on a day to day basis made me realize that, hectic as it seems, I have been resting all my life! In the afternoon, just before lunch, one of the guys I had met in the market the night before said to me, “Hello Kay, is good to see you again. Do you remember me from the market?” His name is Enell (pronounced like N L) and he said he would be singing in the church on Sunday. He asked if I knew the song “Open the eyes of my heart” I said I did, and he began to sing, he nodded his head and lifted his hand to say “Sing with me.” We sang a few songs together and he would teach me some verses in Creole and it was beautiful. He asked me if I worked like this at home and I said no, not at all. We talked about many different things. We laughed, and we sung a little more and then we started talking about the scriptures. He said that his favorite was “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for bad I will give you a future and a hope.” He said to me: “Jesus, he is my hope and I have to believe that, and I have to hope that my God had a big plan for me in this life. I do these things now that he can maybe someday use me, to use my singing to bless people the way – Do you know Chris Tomlin? I love him. He blesses my heart and makes me feel the way I want people to feel when I sing.” I said yes, I know him (of course, I did not realize he meant it literally!) He said I will give you something to bring to him. It is my dream that maybe he would come to Haiti someday, and I could sing with him- he in English and I would sing French or Creole-That is my dream, and my hope that it is God’s plan for me.” As I sat and listened to him talk about his life and how “Chuckie” had helped him and shown him God’s love, I experienced what true hope is to the hopeless. Many of us talk about hopelessness in life and how we have Hope for this or hope for that, I don’t know in my heart that we really understand “how” to really have and display the hope that God has promised us. Enell said this “I have to hope that my God has a big plan for me, for my life. ……….. …….Well… as God would have it, the direction of this day has changed and I will go to another part of the conversation that Enell and I had. He said “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away” He talked about losing his mother and how some years later he lost his father too and then he repeated himself, and said how he has seen it many times. He gives and takes away As I was writing this I thought I heard someone call my name and I turned to the group and asked if someone just called me and they all said yes and I heard Tina, now yelling for me. I ran up the stairs to find Tina and Chuck trying to get baby Josiah breathing. I took over with infant one person CPR and asked Tina if we could take him somewhere, she called Dr. Ken who said we could bring him there that he the supplies on hand to at least try and stabilize him. Despite my best efforts and the skilled hands of kind and caring Doctor and his wife, Josiah went home to his heavenly father today. Yes, the Lord gives and he takes away. Yesterday he gave Katyanna and today, he took Josiah. Tina, of course is grief stricken. She went as far as saying “I’m a bad mother.” We all know that is not true in any way. I told her that no matter how great an earthly parent any of us can be, there is no greater parent than our own Heavenly Father and she agrees. It just hurts. God has promised us all that he will never put on us more than we can handle. You know what I think? I just think that maybe little Katyanna is going to be fine and God knew that Tina has taken such good care of Josiah already that he decided to take him home where He could finish taking care of him so that Tina will be able to focus on taking care of baby Katyanna, who is doing well so far I might add. Two struggling little ones is a bit much for one person. God knows what he doing and we all have to trust that. Enell asked me if I have a favorite scripture and I will leave you with that….. “It is my greatest expectation and my hope that in nothing will I be ashamed, but that Christ would be magnified in me, whether it be by my life or my death. For to me, to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” (Phil 1:20 & 21) Josiah gained his place in heaven today. He left here knowing how much he is loved and will be missed. There will be grief and tears. Despite the pain in her heart, Christ does now and will continue to be magnified by Tina’s life and the love that she so freely gives these little ones who, without her would have nothing and no one. A side note… We had a wreck on our way to Dr. Ken and much prayer needs to go up.